Fighting Patton: George S. Patton Jr. Through the Eyes of His Enemies Yeide, Harry

He is remembered as an officer with few equals. A leader who attained legendary status while commanding corps and armies as a general during World War II. He was also well known for his eccentricity and controversial outspokenness. But no matter the opinion or label attached to his name, few can argue George S. Patton’s place as a truly legendary figure in the annals of military history.

George S. Patton Jr. was only five years old when he informed his parents he intended to become “a great general.” When he learned to read, the first book he bought was a history of decisive battles. In school he was always organizing sham battles. On his honeymoon in France, he took his young bride to historic battlefields and fortresses. Waging war was Patton’s passion and all his life he trained himself to fight. Nothing else really mattered to him.

Many books have been written about Patton. Fighting Patton: George S. Patton Jr. Through the Eyes of His Enemies is the first to examine the legendary general through the eyes of his enemies, the opposing German commanders. During his extensive research through German wartime records, noted historian and author Harry Yeide has uncovered hundreds of unpublished unit reports, officer accounts, and telephone transcripts to illuminate the German perspective on how and why they lost their battles with Patton’s forces.

This truly unique study follows Patton’s rise through the ranks in the Mexican Expedition and World War I, as well as his many campaigns throughout World War II, from Tunisia, Sicily and Normandy to Lorraine, the Bulge, and into the heart of Germany. The result is a fresh take on one of the most storied figures of twentieth-century warfare.

Harry Yeide is an international affairs analyst with the federal government. He has worked primarily with political and security/military issues, writing assessments for the President of the United States and other senior policymakers. He is the author of The Longest Battle, The Tank Killers, Steel Victory, and Weapons of the Tankers and the coauthor, with Mark Stout, of First to the Rhine. Yeide lives with his wife Nancy and three cats in Hyattsville, Maryland.